Big Blind Special is a term you hear more often in cash games than in tournaments. This is due to the high frequency of pots that start with no preflop raises, only limpers.
But what does this mean? Well, this expression is generally used to describe a situation where the player sitting in the big blind gets to see the flop for free – that is, the hand comes without any raises and he or she just checks to see the first three community cards – and then ends up hitting a strong hand, even though he or she had a weak pre-flop hand. For example, if you are dealt :7s :4c in the big blind and the flop comes :6s :5h :3d , that is a “special big blind.”
However, it is also possible to take advantage of “special big blinds” by calling pre-flop raises in the big blind, this is also known as “defending” against pot steals by the raiser.
Let’s explore some reasons why defending your big blinds in tournaments can be advantageous – and profitable.
Why defend the Big Blind?
As mentioned, in tournaments the number of limped pots is lower due to the high frequency of aggression, particularly from late positions. However, today advanced players are defending their big blinds more liberally when there is a raise – and as a result, they are hitting more special big blinds.
The best reason to defend your big blind more often in tournaments is to combat the aforementioned increase in late-position aggression. If your opponents are raising with a wide range of hands from the cutoff and button, your calling range – even when out of position – should increase enough to exploit your opponents’ mistakes.
If you call a raise and flop a middle pair against an aggressive player who has a wide preflop range, you can extract value on the turn and river just by check-calling.
Why not re-raise?
You might be asking yourself, “If my opponent is opening with a wide range of hands, why can’t I just reraise from the big blind and take down the pot preflop?”
This is a valid question. If you are dealt a bad hand in the big blind and an aggressive player raises in late position, reraising as a bluff is certainly an option. However, if you are dealt a Broadway hand or a closely-suited hand like :9s :7s , which have little value but have the potential to become a great hand on the flop, then 3-betting is not a good option. It will only inflate the pot and give your opponent the chance to 4-bet, forcing you to fold.
Getting value out of it
When the antes start, defending the big blind by calling raises becomes even more profitable. For example, if the blinds are 2,000/4,000 with a 500 antes at a nine-handed table, and the button player raises to 8,000, the pot is now 18,500. If the small blind player folds, you only need to pay another 4,000 from the big blind for a chance to win 18,500. In this situation, your pot odds are excellent. To break even on this investment, you only need to win the hand 21.62% of the time (4,000/18,500).
Putting this into perspective and calculating the odds, the hand :9s :7s has a preflop equity of 21.25% against a pair of aces, if neither of them is :As . This is enough to make calling preflop profitable. And when there is a raise and another call, your calling range should be even wider.
To cite an example, in early 2014 at the final table of the Main Event of PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), a hand involving Pascal Lefrancois, Isaac Baron and Mike “Timex” McDonald caught attention because it illustrates a player realizing that he could extract value by defending his big blind.
The blinds were 20,000/40,000 with an antes of 5,000. Isaac raised to 90,000 from early position, Mike called from the cutoff, and the button and small blind folded.
At this point, with eight players at the table, the pot was 280,000 in chips. Pascal was the big blind and only needed to call another 50,000 to see the flop, meaning he only needed to win the hand 17.86% of the time to break even (50,000/280,000).
Pascal decided to increase his range and called the bet with :Qh :8d . Unfortunately for Lefrancois, Isaac held a dominant hand, :Ad :Qs . However, Pascal still had 16% equity – almost enough to make his call profitable. He then called the bet, and while he didn't win the hand, his action was justified.
Don't always play defensively!
There are obvious pitfalls to following these tips to defend your big blind more freely.
First, this strategy is much more effective when you and your opponent(s) have a large stack. If the stacks are small (i.e. less than 20 big blinds), your implied odds are negatively affected because you can only extract a limited amount of chips from your opponent. Likewise, you will check-fold very often on the flop after defending your big blind, and this is something you should not do when your stack is small in a tournament.
Also, pay attention to your opponents’ adjustments in play. If skilled players notice that you are defending with a wide range, they may counterattack by narrowing their range. Poker is a game of adaptation, so don’t expect to always be profitable by using the same strategy over and over again.
Next time you’re in a tournament, you don’t have to wait for everyone to limp in to try to hit a special big blind. Sometimes all it takes is a good defense.
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Translated and adapted from: To defend or not to defend? Facing a pre-flop raise from the big blnd
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